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DETROIT— General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. topped the U.S. government's list of automakers with the most recalled vehicles last year. Widening problems with air bag inflators made by Japan's Takata Corp. pushed Honda into second place with 18 recalls totaling just over 9 million vehicles. More than half of Honda's recalled vehicles— 5.4 million— were due to...

Eleven analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a year-to-year gain of 7.1 percent. The 48 economists polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predicted annualized sales in February of 16.7 million vehicles. "There was definitely a slowdown" in sales after February 20, "said Mark LaNeve, Ford Motor Co's U.S. sales vice president.

DETROIT, March 3- For the second year in a row, ferocious winter weather slowed U.S. vehicle sales in February, with several major automakers missing analysts' projections and dampening bullish expectations. The lackluster sales reported on Tuesday were "likely due to inclement weather," said Joseph Amaturo of Buckingham Research Group, who expects "any lost...

DETROIT— Freezing temperatures and drifts of snow took a small bite out of U.S. auto sales in February, but most automakers still reported gains thanks to the strong economy. Chrysler, General Motors, Honda and Nissan all saw gains of 6 percent or less. The forecasting firm LMC Automotive pushed up its 2015 forecast by 40,000 vehicles, based on strong demand.

PARIS, March 1- The mass-market convertible car emits its last gasp this week at a Geneva motor show bristling with sport utility vehicles and low-cost models-- more evidence of the pragmatism of European consumers marked by years of austerity. Mainstream brands from Peugeot to Volkswagen are quietly axing cabriolets, as customers with cash to spend...

*Nissan working on plan to utilise Japan capacity- exec. "The key word is flexibility," Jose Munoz, executive vice president at Nissan and chairman of its North American arm, told reporters at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama. With recent and upcoming model launches in the United States such as the Murano sport-utility vehicle, Maxima sedan and Titan pickup truck,...

YOKOHAMA, Japan, Feb 27- Nissan Motor Co will be able to meet its goal of taking 10 percent of the U.S. market in two years without any major new investments and by making use of capacity available at factories in Japan and South Korea, a top executive said on Friday. Jose Munoz, executive vice president of Nissan and chairman of its North American arm, also said there was...

NASHVILLE, Tenn.— State Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said Thursday that it may have been "a mistake" for Tennessee to subsidize the development of the General Motors plant outside Nashville because it has a United Auto Workers union contract. Republican lawmakers have grumbled about the United Auto Workers union's ongoing role at the plant, and Ramsey pointed to...

Ten automakers whose vehicles have been recalled because of problems with Takata Corp. air bags said Thursday they have jointly hired Orbital ATK to figure out the problem. Air bags inflators made by Takata of Japan can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into car and truck cabins. So far, about 17 million cars and trucks have been recalled in the U.S. and...

Katayama, who died last week at age 105, was the executive who renamed the sports car Nissan exported to the United States in the late 1960 s. Instead, it uses Nissan's tried-and-true, stalwart VQ V-6. A base, 2015 370 Z Coupe has a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $30,815 with manual transmission and $32,115 with...

J.D. Power on Wednesday released its annual ranking of vehicle dependability. The rankings are based on problems per vehicle as reported by owners of 2012 model year cars and trucks. Here are the rankings, as well as the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles.

TOKYO, Feb 25- Japanese stocks steadied around a 15- year high on Wednesday morning in a choppy morning session, as cautiousness over an over-heating market was partially countered by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's message of policy flexibility. At 0124 GMT, it was up 0.2 percent at 18,643.28 after peaking at 18,648.77 earlier, the highest point since...

DETROIT— Mitsubishi's 2016 iMiev will remain the cheapest electric car on the market when it goes on sale in the U.S. next month. The iMiev was introduced in 2011. Two years later, Mitsubishi dropped its price by $5,000 to ensure it would be cheaper than newer entries like the electric Chevrolet Spark. Mitsubishi sold 196 iMievs in the U.S. last year, down 81 percent...

TOKYO, Feb 24- Japan's Nikkei share average edged up on Tuesday but investors were cautious ahead of comments from U.S. Expectations that the Fed will hike interest rates this year amid signals of a strengthening U.S. economy have kept the market sensitive to the prospects of capital outflows from Asia back to the United States. Yellen testifies before Congress...

A group of workers and supporters at the Faurecia SA seating plant in Cleveland plans a Tuesday march. The union has been trying to organize Nissan Motor Co.' s Canton, Mississippi, plant for years, and lost a 2008 worker vote at a Johnson Controls plant in nearby Madison that French-based Faurecia bought in 2011.. Protesters say Faurecia employees make a top wage...

*Takata underperforms after U.S. slaps on daily fine. TOKYO, Feb 23- Japan's Nikkei share average hit a new 15- year high on Monday after euro zone finance ministers reached a deal to extend heavily indebted Greece's financial rescue by four months. "The debt deal is giving comfort to the market," said Masashi Oda, chief investment officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust...

LOS ANGELES, Feb 21- U.S. West Coast ports will resume full operations from Saturday evening after a tentative labor deal was reached between a dockworkers union and a group of shippers, easing months of disruptions to trans-Pacific trade that have hit businesses from automakers to meat exports. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez arrived in San Francisco to broker a...